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The N-word: do we have to spell it out?
The N-word: do we have to spell it out? One word is so uniquely offensive that it should never appear in print, some argue. But does that let people using racist language off the hook?
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Why grammar isn’t cool – and why that may be about to change | Mind your language
Despite its reputation, grammar is colourful and fascinating. Now experts report a renewed interest in the subject A 15-year-old boy made headlines last week after writing a passionate letter of complaint to Tesco regarding bad grammar on its bottles of orange juice. Tesco claimed it used the “most tastiest” oranges, rather than “tastiest”, “most tasty” […]
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Which English? One that promotes understanding between countries and cultures | Mind your language
Finding the right words to communicate effectively to a global audience is much more important than whether you put an ‘ise’ or ‘ize’ on the end As the Guardian discusses the most effective ways to write for a global audience that includes readers of different varieties of English, a lot of emphasis is being placed […]
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English to English: ‘translating’ a cultural divide
Our Tumblr project has explored over 400 US-UK cross-cultural topics. As the Guardian continues to reach a global audience, the nature of ‘translations’ is changing Katie Rogers Media: Mind your language | theguardian.com http://ift.tt/1lW6psH
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Obama wants to ‘de-escalate’ but I will be de-happified if we can’t de-accelerate use of this word | Mind your language
It’s an ugly word for an ugly state of affairs. Surely English can do better. How about ‘descalate’? Barack Obama, when asked about the situation in Ukraine this week, said: “We may be able to de-escalate it.” A number of news organisations reporting the president’s statement, among them USA Today and the Washington Examiner, chose […]
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Time to change the language we use about mental health | Mind your language
The world has moved on since the days of ‘Bonkers Bruno’ headlines, but we still need to mind our language It’s political correctness gone mentally unstable. That’s right, you can’t say anything these days – and here’s yet another article telling us what language we can and can’t use. Cue eye-rolls and tuts. Actually, I […]